Hillcrest High School (New Zealand)
| Hillcrest High School |
|
| Location |
Masters Avenue, Hillcrest, Hamilton
|
| Information |
| Type |
Secondary (Year 9-13) |
| Motto |
Circumspice (Look Around You) |
| Established |
1972 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. |
138 |
| Principal |
K. S. Whiting |
| School roll |
1650+ |
| Socio-economic decile |
8[1] |
| Website |
hillcrest-high.school.nz |
Hillcrest High School is a coeducational state secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand, located in the east Hamilton suburb of Hillcrest.
General
The school examines students using the New Zealand standard, National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). Cambridge examinations for Mathematics and English are also available for able Year 12 students. A wide variety of subjects can be taken at Hillcrest High, ranging from Visual Art to Mechanics, international languages as well as standard subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science.
Academic success
Hillcrest High is reasonably well known because of its academic success. In 2005, Hillcrest students received a total of 54 scholarships, the sixth highest number of scholarships of any high school in the North Island. Seven Hillcrest students received Top Scholar Awards from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority between 2002-5.[2] A student in 2008 scored 99% in the Cambridge English exam, achieving the highest score in the world.[3]
Hillcrest High often puts on regular concerts and other cultural events. Below, is a brief list of the regular events:
- ILC Concert, held in August every year, hosted by Assistant Principal, Mrs. Sue Radford.
- International Concert is held yearly also, in March. The International Concert is held to recognise the multi-culturalness of Hillcrest High. International cuisine can also be sampled beforehand.
- School productions is also a regular, three yearly event. Usually a musical and held at a Hamilton City theatre. These musicals have included Seussical (2006), a musical based around Dr.Seuss's works. The most recent musical was South Pacific.
- There are also drama productions held usually at least once a school term. This will usually include a Shakespeare production, a 6th form production and a 7th form production.
Student groups and clubs
Involvement in cultural activities is an important part of Hillcrest High School. Annual events include the school production and an International Concert that reflects the multiculturalism of the school. The school has social interest groups, including United Nations Youth, Amnesty International, Students Against Drunk Driving, Greenpeace and an Eastside Pentecostal Christian Group and a Bible Society Bible study group.
School facilities
Hillcrest High has a large range of facilities available to students including;
- A guidance counsellor and Careers reference department
- A Nurse and a doctor are available on Thursdays, as well as a physiotherapist.
- The Anti-Harassment Team is also a team of trained senior, Year 13 students who provide guidance events for students who are experiencing bullying etc.
- Interdependent Learning center and Physical assistance center
Motto
There are two commonplace Latin pronunciations: in Ecclesiastical Latin the school motto 'Circumspice' is pronounced chir-koom-spee-cheh,[4] in Classical Latin it is pronounced as keer-koom-speek-eh.[5] It means 'look around you'.
Notable people
- Sonia Waddell (athlete) graduated from this school in 1991. Represented New Zealand in rowing at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.
- Laura Langman (sportsperson) Plays for the Silver Ferns, the New Zealand international Netball team. Graduated from this school in 2003.
- Kimbra Johnson, musician based in Melbourne, Australia. Graduated from this school in 2007.
- Vinny Jervis (musician and first XV rugby captain) graduated from this school in 2007. Vinny has won a number of national and regional titles on solo tuba. He also captained the Hillcrest High first XV rugby team for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
- Scot Hall (actor and singer) Was chosen to perform in the New Zealand Young Shakespeare Globe production in London 2008. He was also the top scholar of Drama in New Zealand in 2007. Graduated from this school in 2007.
- Tom Chen (debater) graduated from this school in 2008. He was a member of the New Zealand team which won the 2009 World Schools Debating Championship.
- Edward Yuan Wang (scientist), graduated in 2010. Bronze medalist, representing New Zealand in the 2010 International Mathematical Olympiad held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Notes